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WINTER SOLSTICE: A GIFT OF LOVE by Carolyn Riker

It
is unusual and a gift that I couldn’t see until I breathed it. I have been able
to watch the sun’s rise through the grey of dawn and smile at the flickers of
frost melting on the waving boughs of evergreen.

It’s
unique to follow daylight as it traverses the tempo of a cat’s soft slumbering
purr. Night comes swifter and the glow of candles and the flames of fire
comfort me more than the steady stream of always-doing-more. As much as I
resisted, I needed this break. I had no idea how much my body was trying to
tell meslow downuntil the
exhaustion settled in around my joints. My eyes swam in molasses. Heaviness of
I-can’t-hold-out-much-long, walked me to the throne of my nest. It’s winter’s
gift of self-nurturing and love.

It’s
been a quiet proclamation of femininity and a need for comfort foods. Lemon
crisps and cranberry, white-chocolate shortbread dipped in tea; I felt a hint
of being pampered without guilt. And the words started to flow even while I
slept. My dreams became prose. This poem was birthed on a late afternoon when
the sun had yet to fully shed its light and the night was already touching the
sky in layers of the most exquisite quilted comfort of repose.

Carolyn Riker is an elementary teacher, mental health counselor, writer and a poet who finds comfort and balance in her kids, nature, music and her sweet cat Copper. She can be seen sipping soy lattes, nibbling on dark chocolate or savoring a full-bodied red wine. Introspective, forthright, kind and compassionate, she intertwines life with yoga, meditating and learning about Vedic Astrology and Ayurveda. She also writes for Elephant Journal and Rebelle Society. Carolyn can be reached via her e-mail address carolynra7@hotmail.com or on facebook here.

~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~

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